Gary Simmons’ installation inaugurates Culture Lab 2016, a two-day series of discussions, dinners, and public projects centering around different approaches to walls—architectural or ideological boundaries which both define cultural practice and limit understandings of art, architecture, and other cultural undertakings. The conversations will be held September 15 th and 16 th; more information can be found at www.culturelabdetroit.org.
“Culture Lab Detroit is about making connections — between minds, fields, and communities,” said CLD Founder Jane Schulak. “This exciting project is a perfect example of that. Gary’s singular project both enhances and pays homage to Detroit.”
This is the first major collaboration between CLD and MOCAD, and marks another milestone in CLD's history of working with local universities and institutions to cultivate projects that focus on bringing in the world's top artists and designers to generate public engagement. Bedrock’s support allows this site-specific contemporary artwork to invigorate a historic space and the surrounding community. Simmons’ installation champions the cultural history of Detroit, presenting its music and art as causes for contemplation and celebration.
“As MOCAD approaches our 10th anniversary, I am filled with pride for our pioneering history, as well as our role as a leader in the local, national, and international art worlds,” said MOCAD Executive Director Elysia Borowy-Reeder. “Our mission is to support the vanguard of contemporary art and Gary Simmons and our partnership with Culture Lab Detroit and Bedrock celebrates our purpose with boldness.”
“At Bedrock, we like to infuse creativity into everything we do and find unique uses for all of our real estate. Art is a huge part of creating a vibrant downtown, bringing communities together and making Detroit a one-of-a-kind destination,” said Dan Mullen, Executive Vice President, Bedrock. “We are thrilled to host Gary Simmons. He’s the perfect artist to shine a light on the city’s rich musical history and downtown Detroit makes the ideal backdrop for his iconic work.”
Though appearing in a variety of spaces, this work indelibly refers to the guerilla technique of wheat-pasting posters to fences, facades, doorways, and other makeshift surfaces, effectively turning an urban landscape into a medium for cultural dissemination. The aesthetic effect is one of urgency and intervention, and as a result, fly-poster graphics have long been integral to a given musical subculture. By replicating this imagery within the confines of the gallery, altering it in color and composition while allowing the main graphic thrust of the imagery to remain, Simmons presents once-slighted or disenfranchised ephemera as vital contributions to culture at large.
The Detroit project is the latest iteration of an ongoing series. Simmons has installed single walls at the Baldwin Gallery in Aspen and the Simon Lee Gallery in London. Recently, he activated the entire interior of Anthony Meier Fine Arts in San Francisco. Importantly, the Detroit iteration will be the largest of the series, and the first to be presented as a public installation. Adding to the site-specific nature of the project, for this iteration Simmons designed 13 posters specifically referencing Detroit music.
ABOUT GARY SIMMONS
Gary Simmons was recently featured in the 56th International Art Exhibition All the World’s Futures curated by Okwui Enwezor and organized by the Venice Biennale. He was also included in the Sharjah Biennale 12 in the United Arab Emirates and Prospect New Orleans 3. Selected public collections include the Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; The Miami Art Museum, Miami, FL; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA; The Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA; Studio Museum Harlem, New York, NY; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY.
ABOUT CULTURE LAB DETROIT
Culture Lab Detroit fosters conversations and collaborations between Detroit and the international design community. Through public discussions, exhibitions, public art projects, and creative partnerships, Culture Lab Detroit explores and promotes the vital role of culture in the mindful regeneration of the city. The organization was founded by Jane Schulak founded Culture Lab Detroit in 2013, in partnership with the Detroit Creative Corridor Center and the College for Creative Studies.
ABOUT MOCAD
The mission of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit is to present art at the forefront of contemporary culture. As a non-collecting institution, MOCAD is responsive to the cultural content of our time, fueling crucial dialogue, collaboration, and public engagement.
ABOUT BEDROCK
Detroit-based Bedrock is a full-service real estate firm specializing in acquiring, leasing, financing, developing and managing commercial and residential space. Since its founding in 2011, Bedrock has located more than 160 office and retail tenants to Detroit’s technology-centric downtown. In addition, Bedrock and its affiliates have invested more than $3.5 billion in acquiring, renovating and developing 95+ properties in downtown Detroit and Cleveland totaling more than 15 million square feet. With a mission to activate its properties through interactive placemaking, Bedrock has proudly partnered with dozens of local, national and international names to make art a central part of Detroit’s visual and cultural landscape.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Contact: 313-832-6622
EXHIBITION HOURS
Wednesday: noon – 4:00 p.m.
Thursday + Friday: noon – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday + Sunday: noon – 5:00 p.m. |
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